Whispering Walls
by LaTashaMalfoy
Summary: "Life isn't a fairytale for everyone. Some of us have to do whats wrong in order to do whats right. You can hate me all you want, but this war is in my house right now, not yours."  I do not own HP
1. Introduction

"Granger? Is that you?" Of course it is. Who else would be crying in a library! And of all people to notice that I was, Draco Malfoy.

"Please don't, Malfoy. I'm really not in the mood."

"Well, I wasn't saying you were Granger, I noticed you were crying and neither Weasel or Potter are around. They finally get tired of your mudblood?"

"I said don't Malfoy." I mumbled through tear stained eyes. "I am dealing with enough without you and your names."

"Well, I'm kinda here alone, so uh…if you won't tell Blaise, I won't tell Potter and Weasley…"

"Won't tell them what, might I ask?" Now he had my attention. Draco never wanted anything to do with me. According to him, I didn't even deserve to be here because of my muggle parents. All the more reason I had to work to become a prefect, so that I could show him that I could work magic just as well as any of his pure-bloods.

"Well," He said, groaning as he sat down beside me, amongst the aisles of books, putting his arm around my shoulder, "I may be a single child, but I still know how to listen when someone has a problem."

I couldn't help but laugh, even through the tears. How would a spoiled brat like Malfoy even understand what I could be going through.

"Thanks but no thanks Malfoy, I think this is kinda out of your league."

"Come on, please Hermione, just talk to me, it'll help I promise."

I don't know what I was thinking at that point. Maybe I was just that lonely that I needed someone, anyone to talk to. Maybe it was the fact that for the first time ever, he called me by my first name. Or maybe, it had nothing to do with him, and was just that fact that I had to get it all out. I don't know. But for some reason, when he said that, I just let it all out.

"Well, the Yule Ball is coming up and the only reason why I think Viktor even asked me is because I was the only girl who wasn't drooling all over him. I was competition. Ron didn't even ask me to the dance until he ran out of other options. I'm not even a girl to any of them, more like a living book. My parents can't understand what I'm going through, and I can't even show them anything new that I learn here, because they are muggles and the Ministry forbids it. I just want a break, you know?"

Draco just stares at me for a second, like he can't exactly figure out what to say. Finally, he just looks from side to side to make sure no one is coming, looks down at his lap, and sighs.

"I understand. You may not think I do, you don't have to think I do, but I understand." Then, I got to thinking about it, he did understand. His dad only cared about Voldermort and taking down Harry, so he didn't get to show off his new wand tricks at home, except to his mom, when she wasn't with his dad, and he really didn't get too many girls interested in dating him, mostly just because he's a jerk, but still.

"Yea, I…I guess you do. Thanks Malfoy." I got up, and started to walk away, feeling much better.

"Hey Granger" He said after me.

Smiling, I turned around. "Yes?"

"Can I…I mean…Can we maybe do this again sometime, you know? On the down low like this?"

"Yea, I think I'd like that." I say, laughing as I turn around again to leave.


	2. I need your help

I couldn't help but wonder if I was dreaming as I returned back to my dormitory. Did Draco seriously just ask how I was feeling? Did I seriously just tell him? What would Ron, and Harry…..What would Harry think? I lay down, trying to keep my cool so that the other girls wouldn't notice, especially Lavender. She notices that something is up, and it will be all over school. Laying there in bed, listening to the other girls breathing steady out as they all drift off to sleep, I let my mind wander…Draco Malfoy...

"We really should be focusing on what's going on right now, you guys." Harry said at the lunch table while Ron scarfs down some kind of mush in a bowl and I stare off, looking down at the table. Focusing on the grain in the wood as I think about what had happened last night in the library. I wish I could read his mind. "Please do tell us what you are thinking about, did you find anything new out?"

"Huh? No. I'm sorry Harry. I been trying to figure out that new potion for class." I lie, looking up at him for a brief second, and then looking back down.

Later that day, in Defensive Magic, I look at him, Draco. How can someone who acts so….arrogant, have been so kind to me the other night. Suddenly, he looks over in my direction. MERLIN! LOOK DOWN! LOOK DOWN! I feel his eyes glaring on me, seeing straight through me, to Luna on the other side. I look up slowly, checking to see if he's still looking at me. He smirks. That dangerous, subtle smirk.

"What?" I mouth to him, running my hand through my hair, maybe it was sticking up or something. He shakes his head. Ok, fine. If you're going to do nothing but distract me from learning so that your grades are better than mine, then I'm just going to ignore you. Staring straight forward, I get back to listening to what Snapes had to say. Suddenly, my parchment paper started to shake, just enough for me to notice. What the Merlin? I look over at Draco. That smirk again, his wand pointing at me right below his desk. On the parchment paper, writing appears.

"Tonight. I must see you. Can we talk?" Staring at my paper, my mouth drops open. I look up, I look around, at Lavender, who wasn't paying attention, Blaise, Luna, Pansy. None of them are looking.

"Is there a problem Ms. Granger? Or are you planning on eating flies for dinner?"

"No sir, no problem at all." I state quickly, sitting up straight.

"That's what I thought." He answered, quietly, his voice still booming out like a low drum.

Looking back at Draco, who is now in a full smile, I nod. The parchment paper starts to shake. "Fine. Sixth floor boys lavatory. The one with all the mirrors."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" I mouth to him. The boys lavatory was out of bounds for me, for OBVIOUS reasons. The parchment paper starts to shake. What spell is he using?

"This isn't just anything Granger. It's important. Two o'clock sharp. TONIGHT"

"Fine." I mouth, how in the world am I going to get away with this.

Silently I sneak out of bed, wearing my silk Gryffindor pajamas. If I was going to be seen by Draco in my pajamas, they should at least be a cute pair, and honestly I think red looks fairly good on me.

"Mmmm….Wonnie." Lavender whispers in her sleep. DEAR MERLIN, don't make me sick! Slowly walking out of the bedroom, and down the stairs, I step into the common room. The fireplace still had a flame going, warm and cozy, the tables still have books on them from where others, most likely Neville or someone, were studying. As I walk out, into the hallway, I use my wand as a light, trying not to brighten the place up too much, as to wake the paintings. Walking down the stairs I go directly into the lavatory.

There he is, staring at himself in the mirror. This lavatory is so dark and gloomy looking, and mucky, and covered in mirrors.

"What do you want Malfoy?"

"I figured out a way to Umbridge out of Hogwarts, but I'm going to need your help."


	3. Dementors

"What? You need my help? How am I supposed to help you get rid of Umbridge? And why would I?" This was starting to get suspicious. I knew now why I shouldn't have trust Malfoy, that it would wind up being like this. Us, in a dark lavatory with no one knowing where I was, or that I was even out of bed. Slowly, I start backing up, working my way back towards the stairs.

"No! No! Trust me Granger! And stop thinking like a Mud-Blood or else I'll ask someone else's help. Now, do you want her out or not? Because honestly, she's not making the Slytherin life any easier either." Draco tells me, trying to explain himself. "We can do this. I already know where you have been training, she is breaking in tomorrow, but if you listen to me, I can help you so that we both win."

"I'm listening…"

"We will hold you at wand-point, I will have Neville, but for your safety, I will make sure that you stay close to me. When Umbridge starts her questioning, before anyone spills anything, tell her about Dumbledoors secret weapon in the woods."

"Why would I rat out Dumbledoor for you?" I snide, not being able to believe my ears.

"Oh My God Granger! Think! It will get her away for a while. Then I can figure out a way to get rid of her. I promise, that's all I'll do." His face looked sincere, but I was still kind of on edge. "Maybe lead her towards some wild animals or something. She is breaking into your pathetic little hiding spot one way or another tomorrow, you can at least help me out."

"Fine. I'll do it." I mumble to Draco. "I don't know what will happen if I don't find anything to lead her to, but I'll do it. Just please, don't screw me over."

"You don't give me enough credit. Yes, I am a Malfoy, better blood than yours by far, but you can help me, and you showed me last night that we may have something in common. You may leave, but can I do one thing before you do?"

"Sure, whatever, if it makes you feel better." I groan, not knowing what to think. Next thing I know, his lips are lightly planted on mine. Never had I ever felt lips so soft, so sweet. Slowly I part my lips, as does he, breathing in his…his…his breath smelt like spearmint, what a weak spot. Before I can think, before I can breath, my knees give out.

"What the blimey hell Mione. I kiss you and you nearly pass out on me. See if I ever do that again" He grabs me under my knees, and carries me up the stairs, into the Gryffindor commons, stopping at the bottom of the girls corridors stairs. "This is where I drop you off. I can go no further. I have heard the stories of your corridor stairs.

"Thank you Malfoy." I whisper "I'm sorry about earlier."

He smiles at me, running his fingers through his hair. "It's ok. I seem to have that affect on women." He says, tugging at his shirt like he made Hogwarts himself or something. Then suddenly, he looks back down at me "Please, meet me again tomorrow night, let me know how it goes."

"I will."

…

"I want you all to think of your happiest moment, the spell won't work unless you do."

My happiest moment, I didn't know. I started thinking of the day I got accepted to Hogwarts and tried the spell. "PATRONOUS." Nothing.

"You've got to think happier Hermione. That isn't enough." Suddenly, I'm smelling spearmint, I'm feeling a light pressure against my lips, I'm holding my wand up in the air and "PATRONOUS." BOOM I did it!

"I did it, I did it. Oh my god Harry!"

"That is amazing!" He hollers back, hugging me, and then the wall explodes. Umbridge.

I see him standing on the other side of the lavatory, and my heart skips a beat. "So, how was it?" Draco asks, his hair glistening in the moonlight, his voice smooth.

"It was amazing Malfoy! I learned how to beat..um" I said catching myself "We got rid of her."

"It's ok. I have done some thinking Grang..Hermione, and if we are going to meet up like this, if we are going to talk, well…it's nice having someone that I can talk to that won't judge me. I know what you were learning how to fight, dementors. It's amazing. Show me please."


	4. Owls in the night

That summer, when I went home. I couldn't stop thinking about him. Draco Malfoy was talking to me, as a friend. Not being a nimwit about everything, just talking to me, like a regular person. HE KISSED ME! The owl came not so regularly with mail, letters from Ron, Harry couldn't write, and we knew it, because of his uncle. I knew better than to expect much out of Ron's letters, but it was still nice to see them.

**Hermione, Just wanted to say hey. Been bloody boring here at home without you and Harry around. Ginny won't stop talking about him. I wanna gag. Your friend, Ron**

**Hermione, You told me to write, and I don't want to get yelled at if I don't. Not much has been going on though, so I don't know what to write. Your Friend, Ron.**

**Hermione, Fred and George keep picking on me, saying your my girlfriend. I haven't heard from Harry all summer, you think he's ok? Your Friend, Ron.**

Not really much to get out of those, other than the fact that Ron is bored. I had just received my last letter from Ron about a week prior so I knew not to expect one for at least another month when an owl tapped on my window. That's weird, that's not Ron's owl. Opening my window, the owl jumps out, and lands on the floor. SCREEEEK! Dropping an envelope, it hops back up on the window sill and flies away.

**Granger, I can't discuss with you what is going on. Know that no matter what, I am not out to hurt you. Some choices in my life aren't made by me. I have to do what I can. I can't discuss in further detail what is going on, but know that I will keep you out of the line of fire as much as I can. Please, don't send your owl to reply, she may get recognized here at the Mansion. Use a black owl, I can lie and say Pansy is writing me. Yours Alone, M.**

Yours alone? Who ends a letter like that? Taking a few steps back, I just stare at the letter. I wish I could think, just think, but my mind is blank as I reread it over and over, running my fingers across where his quill quickly but neatly wrote what he needed to say. I guess I should reply, but where do I even begin. He is admitting that he is the enemy, admitting that as the enemy, he is still my friend. That he is still "mine alone" or whatever that means. Slowly, I put my quill to parchment paper, not even thinking, just letting my quill write what it must.

**Malfoy. I don't understand. I can handle myself, I know more spells and can handle a wand better than you think. I am not "contaminated" as you say. And how are you not making your decisions? You are the only one who decides your fate. I'm so confused by what all you are saying. -G**

And now I sit and wait, it could be days, weeks, before he answers, if he even does. Or, his parents could get their hands on his letter. That would be bad. I leave my bedroom, and go brush my teeth to get ready for bed. Spearmint. I wish I had someone to talk to about this. Harry would yell at me to leave him alone, he is Malfoy after all, Ron would get jealous. Ugh.

"Mom, dad. I'm going to bed now." I say, leaning into the living room. They are wrapped up in something on the news.

"Ok, honey, sweet dreams." They reply, not even looking away from the screen. Slowly I walk back up the stairs to my bedroom. SCREEEEEK! The owl is back. That was fast, opening my window, he does the same routine, then flies off.

**Granger, I said don't use your owl. It's ok though, when my father asked me, I told him it was a younger Slytherin who was trying to learn a thing or two from me, asking for advice. Fell for it. You don't understand, my mother is all I have. I don't control my destiny right now, he does. I have something I need to show you back at Hogwarts. Promise me you won't hate me when you see it. Yours only, M.**

"Promise me you won't hate me?" I ask myself aloud. "What has gotten into you Malfoy?"

**Malfoy, I can't make any promises. I mean seriously though, how bad can it be? And we only have a month left, I will see you then in Hogwarts. -G**

Sending it off, slowly I nod off to sleep. In my dream, I see Draco. It is just me and him, standing in a dark room, there is a chimney and a long table, probably long enough for fifteen to twenty people to sit at, but it is only me and him, face to face. He is standing there, pointing his wand at me.

"You have hurt me, Granger. You nasty little mudblood. Nobody hurts a Malfoy." He looks at me, like I am a bug, a disgusting bug that needs to be squished. "And for that, you will pay." Slowly, the light from his wand grows brighter and brighter, until all I can see is the light, nothing else. Screaming I wake up to find myself back in my bed.

"Oh, thank Merlin it was just a dream." Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. The impatient tap of that stupid owl on the window again. "What time is it? Really Malfoy?" 3 am.

I grab the letter, and shoo off the owl, before opening the letter to read it. No name, just three little words.

**It's that bad. **


	5. If you only knew

A month goes by, no word from Harry, no word from Malfoy. Just one measly little letter is all I receive from anyone.

**Mione, I can't wait for school to start back up. Mom won't stop crying because she says that she is losing all her babies because we are growing up. If my cheeks get pinched one more time, I'm moving in with Harry. Your friend, Ron. **

And now here I am, at Platform 9 ¾, seeing myself off again for my sixth year. It wasn't as filthy as the muggle train stations I was once a custom to, wizards seem to think more highly of their surroundings and take better care of them than muggles do. Once I step onto the Hogwarts Express, I begin my search, from compartment to compartment, looking for Ron and Harry. It is so crowded in the hallway of the corridor anymore though, what with the first years running around like loons, and the trolleys. As I pass by a group of fourth year girls, whispering about Dean, I feel an unfamiliar hand grab my arm, pulling me into a compartment, slamming the door, and pulling the shades shut. No one can see us, or what we are doing in here. Quickly I pull out my wand, pointing it at the unknown person who yanked me in here and was holding me hostage.

"You need to learn when, and who, to pull that wand out on Granger, you're going to get yourself killed." Suddenly, I look at him. The white hair, the grey eyes, I should have known from the very get go who would drag me into a closed room and hide the fact that we were meeting from everyone.

"Oh my god, Malfoy. You're alright." I say, wrapping my arms around his neck, embracing him in a hug. His arms are held out, like he didn't know what to do. Slowly, he melts, and his arms go around me as well. When was the last time this boy received a hug? Or any kind of affection for that matter. He takes my upper arms in his hands, and gently pushes me away.

"We need to talk." He whispers, looking down at the ground. He won't even face me as he speaks. "Please, sit down." Gently, I do, not facing away from him, as if in a trance, and he sits opposite of me, his elbows on his knees. Suddenly, his face goes white, looking as if he is going to throw up. "We are facing a war Mione."

"I know this Draco, but.." He puts his finger up to my lips.

"Please don't, let me finish. We are facing a war, and you and I are enemies. I have developed..a..what would you say, interest in you...er...your type, lately and would hate to have to destroy something which seems so interesting. Please Mione, stop hanging out with Potter, by doing so you are risking not only your life, but mine."

"I can't, Harry is my friend." I state, trying to stay calm, "and how am I risking your life?"

"I don't want to be the bad guy, but." He looks down again and slowly lifts the sleeve of his left arm, revealing the dark mark.

"What!" I stand up quickly, ready to walk out of the compartment now. Harry has got to know about this. I can't keep it a secret, Malfoy is asking too much of me now. He grabs me with both arms.

"Please." He says, looking into my eyes. His eyes melt me. They look so genuine and sincere.

"Fine, but this better be good." I storm, plopping myself back down on the bench, crossing my arms, and sticking my nose up in the air.

"Have either of your parents ever been anywhere like Azkaban?" He asks, "Whatever it is in the muggle world."

"No, Malfoy, because my parents are good people. They don't hurt others, they don't kill." I half holler, half whisper, trying to keep my voice down enough for the people out in the hallway not to hear.

"Well, right before my father went to Azkaban, he sat me down, and he told me that I was the man of the house now. That Malfoy Manor and mother were mine to protect. So the only way that I can protect my mother is to become one of them. I know too much to back out. If I leave, my mother is dead. Do you understand that Granger?" I lower my head, thinking about my parents, how they cared about me. How my dad had taught me to ride a bike, and now I ride a broomstick. How my mom had sat down with me, time and time again, reading me nursery rhymes. A tear streams down my cheek. "Exactly. Life isn't a fairytale for everyone. Some of us have to do what's wrong in order to do what's right. You can hate me all you want, but this war is in my house right now, not yours." I just stare at him. I never thought about it that way.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, barely audible.

"My mother is just now able to sleep at night, she used to wake up screaming from the nightmares of what my father is going through in Azkaban. I have to be there for her now that he is gone. Have you ever had to just hold your mother, knowing that there is nothing you can do to take her pain away?"

I think back, I was about nine at the time. My father had been in a bad car accident driving home from work. As soon as I got home from school, my mother was there waiting outside. I knew something was wrong, she never waited outside for me. We drove to the hospital, and there was my dad, the strong man who had held me on his shoulders, who whispered in my ear before going to bed that one day I, Hermione Jean, would fly amongst the eagles with the great things I would do, little did he know, but I literally would, was laying in the hospital bed, tubes hooked up to his nose, his mouth, and his arms. My mom broke down, fell right there in the middle of the hospital floor, screaming. She cried so hard that she said it felt like her heart was getting torn out of her chest. She didn't sleep at all that night, and neither did I. I stayed up, making her tea, and holding her as she cried, placing her heart, her entire being, in the doctors hands.

"I have Draco. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I say, switching seats so that I was now next to him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, and placing my head on his shoulder. "I just thought.."

"You thought what? That I wanted to become a death eater?" He stands up and is nearly yelling now. "That I want to literally kill Harry Potter? That I want innocent blood on my hands so that others can feel this wretched pain that I feel every day when I look at my mother?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't" I snapped back. "I don't know why you hate Harry, I don't know what other reason you would have that hideous blasted mark on your body, all I know is that I am sorry for judging you, ok Draco? I won't do it again."

"Ok, thank you." He replies calmly. "Just remember, everything I do, it isn't all directed towards you" He leans down towards me, so that our faces are inches apart. "In fact, none of it is, I promise." He kisses me, so softly, that it is as if he is scared he will break me, looks up at me, and walks out of the compartment.


	6. I snapped

"I think Malfoy is a death eater." Harry says randomly, sitting across from me in the compartment.

"Are you crazy, Harry? Malfoy? A death eater? I honestly don't think he has it in him." I reply, holding my head up matter-of-factly. Lying to my best friend, what was I becoming? I was no better than a death eater myself.

"Yea Mione, your probably right." Harry says, half-heartedly as he stands up with his wand and walks out of the compartment, into the over-crowded hallway. That was close.

…...

"What's wrong Draco?" Pansy asks me.

"I hate this school." I reply, sitting down across from her. I do hate it, I hate the school, I hate the students. "Why do THEY have to attend anyway. Nasty, mating with a muggle, like mating with a dog, no doubt." Blaise and Pansy nod their heads in agreement. I know they are simply agreeing with me because I am a Malfoy. The name is a legacy...and a curse. Biting my tongue I can't help but think about what I said. I don't mean it. I hate the school, yes. I hate the students, yes. I hate that we have muggle-borns going to this school, simply for the reason that if they didn't, I would have never met Granger and she would never be at risk.

Suddenly, I feel a gust beside me. Seriously Potter, if you are going to hide with some invisibility spell, don't rub against me as your trying to climb into the baggage compartment. I roll my eyes.

"Hey Malfoy, check this out." Blaise says to me, passing me a piece of parchment. Glancing at it, I see a horrible drawing of Hermione with dog ears sticking out of her out of control hair, and a dog tail. Honestly, looks more like Aunt Bellatrix than Mione anyday, but still.

Shredding it up, I look at him. "Look, we have more important things to do, than doodle pictures of a muggle blood. If that's all your wanting to do is draw funny looking pictures, just let me know, and you'll be out." Slowly the train comes to a halt and students begin unboarding. "I'll be right behind you, Pansy. I think I forgot something," I wink at her, closing the door. She is such a silly girl, thinking that I am interested in her. I pull down the blinds, leaving just me and an invisible Harry in the corridor.

"Ugh..."I fake a stretch, acting like I don't know he's there. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" I yell, pointing my wand where I know he was hiding. I don't see him fall, but hear a thud as a table falls over. Pulling the invisibility cloak off of him, I just look at him, disgusted. "You make me sick Potter. You ignorant little prit" Then, I don't know what takes over me. I think about Granger, and the danger she is in, I think about my mom, about how the night before I left I had to beg her to eat something, so that I would feel a little bit better about leaving her home alone. I thought about everything and all I could see was red. I wanted Harry dead for what he did to my family. I wanted him dead for what he was doing to Hermione. I could kill him right now and not think twice. I raise my foot, crashing it down on his face, feeling his nose break beneath my shoe, and I feel like I could do it, again and again, until this entire corridor is filled with his blood. And then, I stop. What am I doing? I am not a murderer. As angry as I am, I am not what everyone thinks of me. I'm not my father. I can't say I'm sorry. Dammit! "That's from my father." Not exactly a lie.


	7. Manup

"Draco Malfoy! How could you!" I say, running up to him and smacking him in the arm.

"I told you that there would be times that you wouldn't like what I did, did I not? You can't blame me because this was one of those times." He answers matter-of-factly, loud enough that I could hear him perfectly fine, but quiet enough that an onlooker wouldn't think anything of it. "There will be many more this year, and you will have to man-up and face them like an adult."

"Well I never..." I was so fuming at him. How dare he tell me I needed to man-up. What does he know about manning-up. Manning-up wasn't kicking your enemy in the face while they were paralyzed. It was fighting fair. "Draco Malfoy, you are just like your father!" I scream as I stomp away from him. I know that I hit him low, but he deserved it, talking to me like I was a child. Like I didn't understand. Man-up! "Ugh."

…...

**Are you ready to talk?**

Do you really have to ruin my parchment paper every time we have a class together? I glare at him. Like I needed any distractions in Potions.

**Well, I just want to say that I'm not sorry I broke his nose. I'm not! He deserved it! He ruined my family. Now my mom is home with Aunt Bel, HAVE YOU SEEN HER!**

I couldn't help but giggle at how he made fun of Bellatrix, but he was right. If looks could kill, Bellatrix would defiantly have a lot higher death toll. Maybe it was a good thing they couldn't.

**I saw that**

Really? I glance back at him. He has his head in his hand, watching me, smiling. Sometimes you just can't hate the enemy.

"Fine." I mouth. "When?"

**The library, the forbidden section. At three?**

I look behind me again, holding up one finger. He nods.

"Maybe if she'd spend less time mentally undressing Malfoy, she'd get Potions as much as she does her other classes" Lavender sneers.

"Malfoy is nothing but a weasel, a lying, traitorous weasel! Maybe if you weren't constantly drooling over Ron, who sees nothing in you, you would know that." I reply. I was tired of her always sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

"Class Dismissed"

"What was that all about Mione?" Harry asks, looking back towards Lavender, who was snickering with the other girls.

"I don't know, she's been pretty..aggressive lately."

"Maybe she's just, like you said, drooling over Ron." He answers, putting his arm around me playfully.

"Yea, probably. Oh well, who cares, lets go to lunch." I reply, walking a little bit faster in front of him.


	8. Not my enemy

Tears streaming down my face, I sit there and cry. I can't believe it, I can't believe he kissed her. After all the hell she has been putting me through and Ron kisses her.

"Hey" I feel a slightly cold hand on mine. "What are you doing?" I look up.

"Malfoy?"

"Hermione, what's wrong?" He asks, putting his arm around my shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing, you'll think I'm being childish again." I say, brushing the tears away with the back of my hand. "Look, I'm sorry that I said that. I think we both.." He glares at me, like he's expecting an apology "said some things we really don't mean."

"Yea, we did." I whisper back.

"So, word has spread around the castle like wildfire already about Weasley and Lavender. I'm assuming, him being your best friend or whatever, that is what's wrong."

"Yea." I mumble.

"Do you love him?"

"Excuse me." I look at him. How can he ask me that. I mean, it's Ron for Merlin's Sake.

"Do you love him? If you do, I..I guess I could take care of Lavender for you." He says sqinching his eyes disgustedly. I laugh, the look on his face is like he had been sucking on a lemon and was trying to hide how sour it really was.

"No, thank you though. Me and Ron, we...he's my best friend. It would be weird to love him."

"Yea, that's how I've always felt about Pansy too. My parents have been pushing me into her, but" He pauses, no longer looking at me, just kinda dazing off into space for a second, then looks back "she's more like a sister, you know?"

"Yea, I do." I whisper, looking down into my lap, at his hand, cool to the touch, still on mine. Am I like a sister?

"Come on, lets go somewhere."

"Where?" I whisper. "It is nearly curfew. We can't be out of dormitories."

"Just come on, you're not going to dormitories tonight." He grabs me by the hand. "Part of being me, I can get away with a lot more than you or Potter." I follow quickly behind him. Up one hallway, down another, up another. Next thing I know, we are in the courtyards.

"The moon is so bright, Draco." I whisper, staring up at it. "It's so beautiful."

"Yea, it is." He whispers back, not really even sounding like he's in the conversation. When I glance out of the corner of my eye, I see that he is not even looking at the moon, he's staring at me. "Mione."

"What Draco?" I ask, looking into his eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" Gently he leans in, curving his hand to my cheekbone, kissing me softly. Any rules that we had set, were broken. I was not Gryffindor, I was not a muggle-born, I was not a witch. I honestly don't even think that I was Hermione Granger. I was just a girl, kissing a boy, under the moon. Carefully, my mouth explored his, his mouth explored mine. There was no Harry Potter, no Hogwarts. There was nothing but him. And then, he pulled away and just as fast as everything disappeared when his lips touched mine, everything reappeared.

"For one night, Draco, can I ask you something?" I whisper, looking deep into his eyes. His gray eyes, the same color as the moon is tonight.

"Anything Mione." He answers, kissing my hand gently.

"For one night, can we not be enemies? Can we just enjoy each others company." I ask, my eyes begging him to say it.

"You're not my enemy Granger, you are just a muggle-blood caught in the middle of this war." And then, he kissed me again.


	9. Twit

"I don't care Harry. I am not going to be a part of Ron and his silly games." I point out, continuing on to my next class.

"Come on, as soon as she notices that he is giving someone else attention, you can stop."

"First off, I know he talked you into talking me into this. Second off, no. She's a twit."

"Wait! She's a what?"

"Umm" Crap! Crap! Crap! I screwed up. How did I screw up? "I said she's a brat Harry."

"You said she's a twit, I heard what you said." He glares at me.

"So what, Harry? She is one. She's spoiled and..and easy..and no. You know why I don't want to." I played 'that card'. The I'm-pretending-to-like-him-so-you'll-leave-me-alone card. I hated doing it. I hate lying to my friends, to my best friends, but they don't understand.

"Ok, fine. I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't think it would get to you." Harry answers sincerely.

"Well" That was a shocker. Not expecting Harry to respond like that "it would." I walk off, a little bit faster towards Potions, trying to lose Harry before I get there. I promised Draco I'd come to class early so we could talk for a few minutes.

"Well it took you long enough." I hear smoothly as soon as I walk in the room. Looking around, I would think I'm the only one here. Then I see him, kicked back in his chair, hands behind his head, feet on his desk, in the corner of the room.

"Yea, well. I had to lose Harry. He was trying to get me to.. to trick Lavender into getting jealous over Ron."

"And you tell me he's not a risk. The boy can mastermind something like that, I need to stay on top of my game." With that, he puts his chair back down, leaning forward on his desk, with his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the desk. "What do you have to say to that Ms. Granger?"

"I still say that he is in the clouds about it all." I answer proudly.

"I had to tell you something, why I wanted to see you. They...he...he wants me to do the unthinkable. He wants me to kill someone Mione. I don't know that I can do it, honestly. I don't. What if..." I put my finger up to his lips.

"Shhhhhh...you ramble on like that and you'll be the one dead. Has he told you who you have to kill?" Maybe it'll be your father and we will all be better off, I think to myself. He bites his bottom lip a few times. "Draco?"

"No, he hasn't. Just said that the job has to be done." He replies. He looks scared out of his gourd. I wrap my arms around him, a tear falling down my cheek. "Please don't, Hermione."

"It's ok." I whisper into his ear. "I'll be here no matter what. You have told me enough to know that I can trust you." Like the fact that Snape was one of them. I knew it all along, but to actually hear Draco say it, it was kind of scary. "I know your not going to hurt me."

Suddenly, the door flew open, and the first student walks in. Luna Lovegood. I jump up. "I hate you, you spoiled, arrogant little brat!" I scream at Draco, as he's adjusting himself for an argument. Everyone piles into the classroom to see what's going to happen.

"Yea, well if it was up to me, you and your nasty mudblood wouldn't be in my school."

"Your school? So what, now that you can get away with whatever you want from Snape you think you own Hogwarts? Because your parents have money? You think you own the place?"

"Listen here you little twit" He says with a face of disgust, as he looks me up and down, "You may think you are high and mighty now, but when this war is over, you will be nothing. Nothing more than an elf cleaning my mansion."


	10. Our date

…..

_A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter done, but I just couldn't figure out where Mione and Draco could go without someone realizing he was a Malfoy. I wanted them to have a nice date before the war. For their sake.-L_

…_._

"Come with me. I want to go somewhere. Where no one knows our names." He whispers, looking at me through the books in the library. "I want to take you out on a date Hermione." I sigh. I had never really been one for dates, but it did sound nice to be able to just go somewhere with him.

"Yea, but how realistic is that? Where can we go that someone doesn't recognize that you're a Malfoy?" And then it hits me. The one place no one would realize he was a pure-blood. "Wait! I've got it! I have a place, but you can't laugh."

"I can't laugh, first place I made you meet up with me was the lavatory." He smirks. "What should I wear, my lady?"

"Let's see…" I have to think, what wouldn't stand out? Any boy who looks like Draco don't need help standing out in a crowd, he would do it well enough on his own. "Just wear slacks, and your school uniform, minus the gown and vest of course."

"See you at midnight. The courtyard." Winking at me, Draco grabs a book from the shelf, and walks away. How does that boy do it? How does he give me butterflies and then just casually walk away? How was he going to respond to our date? What was I going to wear?

….

"Does this look bad?" I ask Ginny, looking at myself in the mirror. The red spaghetti strap dress, sleek and tightfitting, and went down to about my knees.

"No." She replied, admiring the dress. Looking me up and down, she looks like she's about to cry. She can't afford things like my dress, the youngest of seven, she could barely afford her books.

"Please don't cry, Gin." I sit down on the bed next to her, wrapping my arm around her. "You can wear it anytime you like, I promise. I wasn't even going to wear it here at the school." I wasn't lying. "I was going to wear it….out. So, if you wear it, and Harry saw you.." I hinted.

"Really? You would do that for me?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Of course. You're my best female friend." I hug her, wishing I could tell her what was going on. She always told me about all of her boyfriends, all of her crushes. One day. "I love you like you were my own sister, you practically are. We need to get going to bed though, mornings going to get here soon." So is midnight.

"Ok, Goodnight." She says, getting up and grabbing her bed clothes to change. After we change, I lay down, resting my head on my pillow, and wait, staring at my dress hanging up in the closet.

Three hours later, after sneaking out of bed, going to the lavatory to change into my new red dress and a pair of heels, I go out to the courtyard. There he is. I sit back, in the shadows for a minute, watching him. He looks amazing, staring up at the moon, wearing his white button down shirt, a pair of slacks, and that hideous green and black striped tie. I can't believe how lucky I am to get to go on a date with him tonight. I sigh, putting one foot in front of the other, until I am finally in view, hoping the moonlight gives my dress some justice. Draco's eyes get big, his mouth drops open, and all he can do is stare.

"Oh Hermione." He sighs out, bowing down. "You put the moon and stars to shame tonight. Merlin has blessed me with your beauty." I feel my cheeks redden and look down, glad that it is dark so that he can't see me blush. "We need to go, at least in our pajamas, we have a poor excuse for why we are out." I nod.

Minutes later, we arrive at our destination, Draco can't help but stare.

"Draco. Stop staring." I mumble under my breath. "It is simple. Muggle. You will never be recognized here."

"I would say. It's disgusting, dirty." He replies, and I know he is right. I don't even try to argue with him. The first time I left for Hogwarts, the culture shock scared me. It was clean, it was spotless. There was no dirt, no trash, no homeless.

"It has restaraunts that are open all night, fancy restaraunts. Let's go." I say, taking his hand. We walk down the street, and although Draco can't help but stare at well, practically everything, it's nice to be away with him. "This one looks good, I suppose." We are now standing in front of the brick building. It has two windows, with bars over them, and flower pots as window sills. Quickly, Draco walks in front of me, bowing as he opens the door.

"You don't have to believe me, but my father has never let my mother open her own door when he's around." I was shocked. I didn't see Lucius being that type.

The resteraunt is even more beautiful on the inside, a red velvet runner leading the way from the door to the attendant booth. Along the sides of the runner, you can see rock flooring showing through, the light gray contrasting perfectly with the red. There are benches in the hallway as well, for people to sit while waiting for a table, and a man in a black suit at the end, waiting to seat us.

"How many sir?" The attendant asks Draco, bowing slightly, his hair the same slicked back look Draco had when we first met. Draco just looks at me.

"Two, non-smoking please." I butt in kindly. As the attendant grabs two menus and leads us to our seats, I smile sleekly at my date, walking in front of him. As we go to sit down, the attendant pulls out my chair for me. "Oh, Thank you sir." I answer, sitting down. Draco just glares at him, like the man offered to kiss me or something.

"What can I get for drinks?" The man asks us, looking at Draco first and then me.

"Tea please." I answer, "for both of us"

"Your waitress shall return with your drinks." As the attendant walks away, Draco stares at me.

"This is defiantly different than any pub I have ever been in." Draco tells me. "The muggles do things so strange."

"Yes. Yes, I suppose they do, don't they? But, you will not find a single Malfoy here, a single Weasley. Nobody will recognize us. Our secret is safe here. We are just a muggle boy and a muggle girl eating at a fancy resteraunt." I giggle. "I'm really not even hungry, you know?"

"Really, I'm not either. I guess I probably shouldn't have eaten dinner in the hall this evening, but I had no idea that we were going to be coming here. Let's just get our teas and talk." He replies, and I'm thankful.

"Here are your drinks, what can I get the two of you to eat?" The waitress asks, setting our teas on the table. She is a blonde, wearing a white button down shirt, and a sleek black skirt. Staring at Malfoy, she loses focus of her job, staring at his white hair, and then his tie, focusing on the colors.

"We are fine actually" I answer, breaking her concentration "I think we are just going to enjoy our tea and rest a while. You see, my friend here" I raise my hand, referencing to Draco, "Is from out of town, and hasn't had a chance to see a night out in London yet."

"Oh yes, I'm sure. London is a very beautiful city." The blonde answers, looking at me for a second, then walks away.

"Thank you Mione. I was scared for a second that she recognized me." Draco says, taking a sip of his tea. "But how would a muggle recognize me?"

"I don't think she's a muggle." I whisper, barely audible for even his ears, much less anyone hearing bits of the conversation. "The way that she looked at your tie, I think she went to Hogwarts, or had a sibling who did."

"Waste of magic if she did. To come and work here afterwards?" Draco snarls.

"Some do" I reply, hoping that she isn't a Death Eater herself, but that would be silly to work amongst muggles if you hate them that much.

"I want to tell you, Hermione, that I enjoy your company. When I am with you, it isn't dark and light, good and evil. It's just you and me. There is no war, I can be me." He looks down at his tea, as if he is holding the conversation with it instead of me. "I don't even get that privilege at home."

"I understand" I say, looking into his gray eyes, thinking about that kiss we had shared in the courtyard, how everything had disappeared when his lips pressed against mine.

"You don't. You get to be you whenever you leave my presence. Don't think that I don't see you at lunch. That I don't watch you laugh with Potter and Weasley. That I don't hear you talk with Ginny and Luna about your magazines. You get to be a normal teenager while I am sitting here trying to figure out everything."

"Listen to me, when this bloody war is over, you will get to be normal too. Our lives will be normal." I exclaim. "All will be fine." I whisper, looking down at the table.

"Tell me about your life, Hermione, your life at home. Your parents." Draco says, "I've never had a chance to actually ask someone about muggles."

"My parents are dentists, they clean peoples teeth. It's not a dangerous or a wild job, just a job. They have always been very supportive of me. Mom was thrilled when I got accepted to Hogwarts. She made cookies for a week" I laugh, remembering how I would come home from my muggle school and she would be in the kitchen singing away 'Bubble and brew and monkey stew' like she knew what she was even talking about. "My father, he was excited too. I remember him telling me 'I always told you that one day you would fly with the eagles, that you were smart enough to do anything'. I still tell myself that whenever I am having problems with my O.W.L exams, or" I pause, looking down, embarrassed.

"Or what?" He asks, looking at me concerned. A tear streams down my face.

"Or whenever you would pick on me." I whisper. "I told myself that you would see. That I would fly with the eagles and you would be sorry you ever picked on Hermione Jean. That's what my dad always called me." I laugh again, half-heartedly "Like Hermione wasn't long enough, he had to add in my middle name too."

"That's great. You're lucky to have parents like yours." He answers.

"Thanks." I blush. "Are you..ready?"

"Yes" He answers, "I think I am." Silently we go up to pay our bill. "Don't worry about it, Draco. Your money isn't going to work." I take out my wallet and pay with muggle money. He looks at me, shocked. I think he felt average. I could tell it was a feeling he wasn't used to.

Next thing we knew we were back in the courtyard. "Thank you, Hermione. I had a wonderful time." Gently, he kisses me, running his fingers through my tangled hair. "I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

"Ok" Is all I can get out, shocked from the kiss. He laughs, kissing me again.


	11. A Mother's Love

I don't want to kill Dumbledoor. I couldn't stand lying to Hermione when she asked me who I had to kill, but I am saving her by lying to her. I am stopping her from trying to stop me, from trying to be a hero, and getting in the way. I never want to see her in the hands of Aunt Bel, I don't think I could handle it. Slowly, I walk up the stairs to the tower, feeling my stomach drop with each step I take.

"How do you do this Aunt Bel?"

"Do what? Murder? You just do it, silly boy. Everyone faces death, everyday, sometimes we just give it that extra umph. It's a rush though. A feeling you will never experience." With that she laughs. I hate it when she laughs, it makes me want to turn her into a hyena.

"One day, Aunt Bel, I'm going to kill someone, and I will prove you, and everyone else for that matter, wrong." I snarl, looking her in the face.

"Listen here you little twirp. You are nothing, nothing but feelings, just like your mother. And the likes of you killing anyone makes me laugh."

"Listen here!" I holler, pointing my wand in her face "Don't you ever talk bad on my mother!"

"You will control yourself, Malfoy." A deep, familiar voice bellows behind me, "She isn't the one you are supposed to kill tonight. Now, stop putting this off, go up there and do what you need to."

"Yes sir." I reply, walking up the stairs, hearing Hermione's voice every step of the way. _You are the one who decides your fate. _I know I am Mione, and my fate is you, I promise, as I walk up to my fate.

"You don't have to do this, Draco. You are a good boy." Dumbledoor begs, his eyes begging me for his life.

"You don't know me! Look at me!" I show him the dark mark. "Does that look like the sign of a 'good boy' to you? Does that look like a mark your precious Saint Potter would have on his arm?"

"Enough of this, just kill him if you are going to." Aunt Bel says behind me in my ear. "Just do it, you pathetic little varmint." I couldn't handle it, I heard her in my left ear, and Mione in my right. _You are the only one who decides your fate. My parents are good people, they don't kill. You are just like your father. I'll be here no matter what. _I actually flinch at the last one. I…I can't do it. Slowly I put my wand down. Just as I do that, Snape picks his up, pointing it at Dumbledoor, sending him over the edge of the tower to plummet to his death.

"Come on, we have to go." Snape bellows, grabbing me by the arm, pulling me towards the door.

"Hold on, I need to talk to someone first." I say, thinking back to Hermione, the way that she looked at me last night in the restaurant, the way her lips felt against mine.

"There is no time." My teacher answeres, pulling me by the arm. I will write you, Hermione, I promised myself.

As soon as we get back to Malfoy Mansion, my home, my bed, all of my personal comforts, I lay in bed and cry. I feel so tiny in this room, in my bed. The four poster, king size bed, had always been a little extreme in my opinion, but it was the same bed I had had since my parents took away my crib. Sitting in the middle of the large room, it makes me feel inferior even in my own bed. I hear a gentle knock on the door, before my mother opens it just enough to peek her head in.

"Draco-honey, can I come in?" I lay there on my bed, not moving, not answering, just sobbing into my pillow. I hear the door creek open a little bit more, followed by her light footsteps, almost inaudible to hear, and a slight pressure as she sits down on the bed. "Come here my son" She coos, grabbing me by the shoulder and pulling me towards her. I don't even fight it. I just sit up and lean into her arms, tears still streaming down my face. "Severus told me what happened." She starts petting my hair down on the sides, comforting me like she used to when I was a young boy with a skinned knee. "Do you want to talk about it?" I shake my head no. "Ok, murder isn't easy. To be completely honest, son, I was never keen on the thought of you doing it anyway. You are just a boy, I don't understand dragging you into this war. Look at me, baby." Gently, she pulls me away from her, wiping my tears and hair out of my face. "There, there. A young man of your age shouldn't have anything to cry that much about. Is there more to it, son?" I can't say that I hate this about my mother, but it is defiantly a dislike, she can read me like a book. Even when I was a young boy, it was like her love for me was so strong, that whenever she would ask me something, I couldn't even control the urge to not tell the truth, my body just naturally did it, and so I nod. "Ah yes, I've noticed that sparkle in your eye, the one your father used to have, back in our fifth year. He would follow me to class daily, begging me to let him carry my books. Is that what it is? A girl?" I nod my head again. "May I ask who? Miss Parkinson by chance?"

"No mum, and no I'm not going to tell you." I knew that as much as I wanted to tell her, it would be risking both our lives, and I couldn't do that.

"Yes, fine. I understand. I'm sorry to hear that it's not Miss Parkinson, but I am happy that a girl has caught my son's eye. Is that what's upsetting you this evening? That you didn't get to say good-bye." I nod.

"We went on a date last night mum, I kissed her. She has shown me a world I have never seen before. When I'm with her, this war, this lifestyle is gone." I confess, making sure not to say who 'she' was.

"That is good son, I never wanted this lifestyle for you. We wanted you to grow up happy and healthy, not to see death in your sixth year, of a Headmaster, and nearly at your own hands none-the-less." My eyes well up with tears again, and I fight them back. He is really gone. This is real. "I do want to tell you something though." This catches my attention, my mother never confessed things, new things at least. "When I was about your age, your aunt" She pauses, so that I know that it wasn't Aunt Bel she was referencing to, "left us, ran away with that half-blood. Your grandmum and pop-pop knew, even back then, that there was something seriously off about Bellatrix, and me as the youngest, got the raw end of the deal. They wanted to have one normal child, and feeling like the screwed up with your aunts, they withdrew me from Hogwarts for a year, and threw away the key. They kept me in the house, in a room about like yours, hoping that I would be the one to turn out normal and make them proud. Oh, Draco. I loved your father so, I missed him so. Pop-pop let me get Owl Mail, so I still could keep in touch with Lucius, but it wasn't the same. I missed seeing his face. Slowly, I feel deeper and deeper into a depression. I begged your grandparents to let me see Lucius, but no. It was out of the question they said. What would it bring to the Black name if out of their three daughters, none of them turned out acceptable. So I cried and cried. Then, one day Lucius spoke with your Grandmum Malfoy about it, said that he couldn't stand another day without me. Your Grandmum agreed to help Lucius, and put your grandparents and Bellatrix under a sleep spell so that I could sneak out. I did, flew on my broomstick straight over here, to this very room, I think, and we spent the entire night talking to each other. I was young then, and as much as Lucius pushed I promised myself I would be pure to our wedding, so don't worry, but we sat in this room all night. I had never been so happy in my life. I returned home around dawn and your Grandmum lifted the spell. Til the day your grandparents passed they had no idea. I can do the same for you, if it will bring a smile back to my son's face." She inquired.

"Would you mum?" I asked, perking up at the thought of seeing Hermione again.

"Well of course" She answered, kissing me gently on the forehead. "And I won't even ask her name." She smiled with a wink. "Now, I demand that you go in the bathroom and get freshened up. I will not have you looking like a hoodlum at my dinner table" She stated sternly, getting ready to walk out the door. "Oh, and Draco?"

"Yes ma'am." I answer, already up and headed towards the bathroom.

"You may want to send that owl out now to ask her, and wipe the smile off your face before dinner too. Don't want Bellatrix thinking anything is up." She smiles, closing the door with that. I smile back, thankful for my mother.

"Thanks mum."


	12. War

_A/N: I had to put that last chapter in there. I love Narcissa, I love how devoted she is to the love for her son, the protection of her family. You can tell that her entire world revolves around them, so I had to show how she would do literally anything, just to see Draco happy._

…_._

"I can't believe he's dead." I cry, holding onto Harry, tears staining up his shirt, his hand gently on my back, comforting me.

"I know, Hermione." He answers, really not knowing what to say.

"Explain to me what happened." I demand, needing to hear it a third time, to make sure I heard correctly.

"Well, it really don't make much sense. Malfoy was standing there, said he was going to kill Dumbledore. Dumbledore told him he was better than that, Malfoy showed him that he had the dark mark. Right here on his arm" Harry says, pointing to a spot on his left arm, the same place where Malfoy had shown me earlier this year. "Bellatrix told him to kill him, and Malfoy started crying and put his wand down. Then, Snape did it, and Dumbledore fell." He repeated, the same story he had told me twice already.

"So," I get out, in between sobs, I could hardly speak, I was crying so hard "Snape was the one that killed Dumbledore?"

"Yea, weird isn't it?" He says, a confused look on his face. "And then they all just walked away, except for Malfoy who said he had to do something first, and Snape pulled him away."

"Really?" I asked, suddenly the story taking a spin, "That's weird. What would Malfoy possibly need to do?"

"I have no idea. I've been trying to figure it out too and I can't."

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall stands up at the podium. Everyone in the Great Hall stops eating and looks at her, even the Slytherins.

"Today, we have lost a loyal Headmaster, a devoted teacher, and" Professor McGonagall chokes up, putting her hand up to her mouth to catch herself, and fight back the tears, before continuing on. "and a beloved friend. Professor Dumbledore was not one to be scared of death, for he stated on several occasions, that the dead do not ever leave us, they simply are no longer seen. So long as we keep our friend, our teacher in our hearts, his spirit will live on. I ask for a moment of silence, and tomorrow, there will be a memorial after lunch for anyone who cares to join us here in the Great Hall." Slowly, she bows her head, as do all of the teachers, and, to my surpise, every single student. We sit there, with our heads bowed, for about five minutes, before she picks her head back up "You may now return to your meals."

"Are you going?" Ron asks, leaning over towards me.

"What do you mean am I going? Of course I'm going." I answer, possibly a little bit too snippy, but a stupid question non-the-less. Then, an old familiar owl flies in, dropping off a letter on my plate, and flies away.

**My dearest Hermione, I am sorry. For everything, the pain I have caused you, the pain I have caused the school. Your voice granted me the freedom to make up my own mind at the last minute. Unfortunately, the fate was still the same. Mother has offered to put a spell over the house tonight. Please, meet me at the courtyard, and accept my invitation to the Manor, no one will know but you and me. Mother still doesn't know your name. Yours Alone, M.**

"Who is it from Mione? Your mom?" Ron asks, trying to peak across the table at the letter.

"No one Ronald!" I scream, stuffing the letter into my lap so that he can't read it. "Can't I get mail without you nosing in it?" With that, I jump up, stomping away to the girl's dormitory. He wants to see me. In his house. I can't believe it. The butterflies were unbearable, and as soon as I got past the huge, double doors of the Great Hall, making sure that they were closed so that no one could see me, I jumped in the air. "Yes!" I scream, running down the hall to the dormitory, closing the door, and jumping on my bed smiling and laughing. "He wants to see me! Me! Not Pansy, not Lavender, not even Ginny! He wants to see me!"

Later on that night, I sneak out of bed. Gently slipping my feet into my shoes, and putting on the clothes I had worn earlier that day, I sneak out, down the stairs of the dormitory, and out the Gryffindor door. No one spotted me as I made my way through the hallways, down the stairs, and slowly stepped out into the courtyard.

"Draco!" I scream, still trying to whisper, wrapping my arms around him. "I was so scared! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine" He whispers, "but you need to be more careful, you are going to wake the entire school, and then it will be both of our heads." He laughs. "Come on, get on my broom, we will head up to the mansion."

"Oh wow, Draco." The mansion was huge, seven times the size of my parents house. "And you grew up here?"

"Yea," Draco replies, not really paying attention to what I was saying, but I really couldn't blame him either, I did have my arms wrapped around his chest. "See, down there's the garden, where I used to play as a boy. My mum had talked my father into building me a clubhouse whenever he came home for a visit one time. I called it the Slytherin Slab" He laughed. I noticed that here he was comfortable. He could call Narcissa mum instead of mother. He took the broom in for a landing right in front of the house. "Those peacocks over there," he pointed up at two perfectly white peacocks sleeping in a tree "They are about as old as I am, and the tree they are in, my mum planted with her bare hands whenever she found out she was pregnant with me. My father laughed at her for it, said that she was going to turn into a muggle if she kept acting like one, like that could happen, but she told him she wanted somewhere for me to be able to sit and relax when I grew older."

"What are the peacocks names?" I ask, out of curiosity.

"Ummm…" He answers, obviously embarrassed, "Mud and Blood." With that, he walks on, opening the door to the mansion, exposing a fireplace to my left and a grand staircase straight ahead that split off two different directions at the top. The way he answered reminded me of how much difference there was between two wizarding families, such as the Malfoys and the Weasleys, Molly would never consider such a derogatory name for her family pet.

"This place is huge" I whisper, admiring the fireplace, looking up at the chandelier.

"Yea, it is. My Grandfather wanted a mansion big enough for all the Malfoys to be able to come here for the holidays, and he got it. He said if you had the money and the resources, show it." Slowly, we walk up the stairs, and Draco leads me off to the right stairwell, then to door on the left. I guess, figuring how he acted at school, I was expecting Draco's bedroom to be really nice, but whenever he turned on the light, there was only a king sized bed and a small nightstand. "I never really spent much time in my room to get furniture" he laughs, "So don't mind the fact that there is none. I was always spending time with my mom downstairs." With that, he closes the door and sits down on the bed. Quietly, I walk over and sit beside him.

"So, we are all alone?" I ask, looking down at my hands nervously.

"Yea, I mean, practically. Everyone is sleeping in the bedrooms, but we could walk in there and make all kind of noise, they probably wouldn't even turn over." He answers. "So, how is it?" I know what he's referring to, he's talking about life at Hogwarts, the death of Professor Dumbledore.

"It's different. Professor McGonagall gave a speech today, and there is a memorial tomorrow. It just all feels so surreal, like I am going to wake up tomorrow, and he'll be there at breakfast, and you will, and Snape. I know that's not going to happen though." I reply. "How could he do it? How could that lowlife kill him. I mean.." Before I can finish my sentence, Draco interrupts me.

"He had to, he made my mum an unbreakable vow that he would watch over me. Aunt Bel threw into the vow that if I couldn't kill him, Snape would."

"Oh." I whispered. "So, I guess this means war, huh?"

"Yea." He answered, looking down at his hands. "Promise me something Hermione." He begs, looking deep into my eyes, so deep, I get lost in his. "Promise me that if this becomes a war, that you won't try to be a hero, that you won't run out in the face of danger."

"I promise." I whisper, not breaking our eye contact. "And promise me that you won't kill anyone if you have a choice, unless a wand is up to your head."

"I promise." He whispers back, "I think this is the last time we will see each other for a while Mione, but if for some reason, some day during the war we do, can we meet up that night and talk somewhere? This sounds stupid, but I need to know you are okay, no matter what the risk."

"Ok." I whisper, agreeing to put my life on the line to see him if we see each other on the battlefield. "at the park across the street from the muggle restaurant." Gently, he leans it for a kiss, and it tastes salty, like tears. He pushes me back against the bed, deepening the kiss, feeling his lips part mine, I give in, opening my mouth wider, taking in his kiss. We could die tomorrow, I want to live tonight. Running my fingers through his hair, I put every ounce of my being into the kiss, begging him to continue as he tugs at the bottom of my shirt. I reach for the bottom of his, untucking it from his pants, begging him to take the only thing that I have to give right now.


	13. An Awkward Love

Afterwards, he held me in his arms and we both cried. Why? Why now? Why did we have to be caught up in the middle of this? Why did this have to be happening? I don't think that was why we were crying though.

"Was I.." I let my voice trail off, allowing his mind to fill in the blanks of the unspeakable question I had just asked.

"Yes" He whispers back, into the darkness. "Yes, you were. Was I?"

"Yes" I mumble, into his ear. The awkwardness of it all was nearly too much, and then he spoke.

"I love you Hermione." Did he just? Did I just? My stomach drops, all the way down, until there is nowhere left for it to go. I feel butterflies, and..and broomsticks flying around in my belly. I can't talk, I can't even think. And then, through the tears, he looks at me in the dark.

"I..I love you too Draco." I whisper, not knowing what else to say. The honesty of it all, this wasn't simple, human emotions. This was raw, this hurt. "This...this is the last time I'm going to see you isn't it?"

"Only until the war is over. It's not safe for you to be here. I mean, it's not safe for you to be with Potter and that...Weasley" he caught himself, for my sake "either, especially not Potter. I think he would throw you in the line of fire before ever taking it himself, but you don't listen. A muggle trait, I assume."

"Watch it." I demand.

"Look" He says, leaning over and pointing out the window, and the full moon outside. "What do you see when you see the moon?" He asks.

"A moon?" I answer, thinking logic.

"No, look deeper at it, stop thinking so much." I stare at the moon, remembering the courtyard.

"I think of our kiss, in the courtyard, when you made all the bad in the world disappear."

"Anytime you feel like you don't have me, I want you to look for the moon, Hermione. I will be here, watching it every night." With that, he kisses me. "We need to go, it is getting early." He looks at me, sighing. "Will you tell anyone?" I know what he is referring to. That I am impure, that I have taken snogging to a whole new level.

"No," I whisper. "I won't. Will you?"

"Never, but I know my parents will know anyway, they can read me like a book." I smile at him, half-heartedly.

"Will you tell them what I am?"

"Mother perhaps. Father don't need to know, probably don't even care." He shrugs, then thinks about it "He would disown me."

"Yea" I sigh. "Let's get going." The broomride back to Hogwarts is awkward, not really knowing what to say about the whole thing, what we did. I love him, but how do you end a night like that? Not with talking about love and war, peacocks and clubhouses.

"Thank you for the evening." I whisper. "I truly did enjoy your company."

"I enjoyed yours too." He smiles, not just a smirk, but a full smile. "I can be myself around you."


	14. Malfoy Manor

"Something has changed about you son." Mum tells me, as we sit in front of the fireplace together, staring at the fire. I knew this conversation was going to be brought up. "You act more...grown. You carry yourself like a man now, is there something you are needing to tell me?" I think back to that night, holding her, loving her. Her legs intertwined with mine, the taste of salt on her lips as we both cry, going to a place we had never seen.

"No, mum." I answer. "My evening with Her..her went great, thank you." I catch myself, luckily, before she does.

"That's great." She replies. "Is she a pure-blood?" I knew that question was going to be brought up. How do I even go about answering it. I can't lie to her.

"I'm...I'm not quite sure mum. Can we stop talking about it please?" I snarl my nose like she hates, trying to think of an excuse to end this conversation. "She's just a stupid girl!" With that, I get up from my chair and stomp out of the room.

**My dearest Hermione, My mother was asking questions today. She says I act more like a man, was wondering if you were pure-blood. I yelled at her. It hurt, seeing the pain in my mother's eyes, but I did what I must. Yours alone, M.**

After reading the letter again, I slowly walked to my window, sending the young bird on his way. I want to scream. I want to scream and cry and hold her like I did that night. I want to run away with her, have many more nights of just laying beside her in bed. Quietly, I walk over to my bed, and lay down, waiting for an end to the pain.

"AHHH HA HA!" I wake up to Aunt Bel's evil laugh. "We have got him. The 'chosen one'" she snarls, is ours at last, I wanna make him suffer, make him scream and beg me for his life, before allowing the Dark Lord to finish him off!" My stomach drops. Hermione. I jump out of bed, running down the stairs, where my mom is sitting in her chair in front of the fireplace, and Aunt Bel is running around the room, dancing.

"What is the meaning of this?" I demand.

"Oh, silly boy, don't you forget. You are nothing here in this house anymore. You can't even kill."

"Don't speak to my son like that Bellatrix!" My mum replies, not taking her eyes off the fire. "Or you won't even know what the inside of this house looks like." Aunt Bel snarls her nose, looking at me disgusted.

"We will see one day what it's like, when your mother isn't here to protect you." she whispers, inaudible to my mother, who is still looking into the fire.

"We have got them, Miss Bellatrix" A young man in black states, pushing a disfigured Harry Potter forward.

"This isn't Harry Potter, you imbusal, what did you do to his face?" She looks at Harry, snarling her nose. He looks like his face is covered in warts, and one of his eyes, the one below his now hidden scar, is nearly swollen shut. I can't help but giggle at the sight. Aunt Bel turns around, giving me a dirty look.

"He was like that when we found him ma'am." The man answers, a fancy looking sword in his hand

"And what is that? Where did you get that?" She demands, losing all concentration on Harry.

"The...the boy had it on him. We took it, reward for us bringing him to you, I suppose." With that, Aunt Bel takes her wand, zapping the man dead.

"Where did you get the wand, Harry?" She asks him, getting down in his face, eye level to him. I can now see Weasley in the background, and then, my stomach drops, my face turns white, I feel like I'm going to puke and cry all at the same time. One of Aunt Bel's men is holding Hermione. "Fine, if you won't speak, I'm sure I can get the girl to. Your little girlfriend perhaps?" She says, grabbing Hermione by the arm. "Send these two to the dungeon, I think I'll have my way with this one first." With that, she laughs that evil laugh, my stomach tearing apart from the inside, my heart nearly beating out of my chest, I watch her lean in close to Hermione, sniffing up her chest to her face. "MUDBLOOD is what you are." She spats at Hermione. "And mudblood is what you shall be marked with." With that, she takes her knife, pushing Hermione onto the floor, and starts destroying Hermione's arm with the dagger. "Haha! Let's see here, M. U." I hear Hermione scream, tears streaming down my face.

"Mum, please, make her stop." I cry out, dropping to my knees by my mother's chair. She just looks at me, her eyes saying everything her mouth can't. That she wants to stop her, that if she speaks up, we will all three die. "This is war, my son. It hurts, but it must be done."

"D. B." Hermione screams, looking at me, her tear stained cheeks red from pain, her eyes begging me to make it stop, to finish her off just to end the pain.

"I don't know. I don't know." She screams out, the blood dripping from her arm.

"Well, looks like you don't bleed mud like the rumors say, huh?" Aunt Bel laughs. "L.O." My mother stands up, and wraps her arms around me, holding me as I watch the love of my life bleed out across the rock floor. The same floor I played on hundreds of times as a kid.

"That's the girl, mum." I cry, a whisper, into my mom's chest as she holds me close. "That's the girl that I love. She's dying."

"She's not dying, Draco." my mom whispers back, holding me, patting down my hair as I listen to the painful shrieks of Hermione begging for her life.

"O.D. Wow, we got a strong one here, Cissy." Aunt Bel laughs, "Gonna be fun killing this one. Oh," She stands up, and walks towards me, getting right up in my face. I can smell her breath. "Does wittle baby Dwaco have feelings for the half-bweed. Do you wanna give hew a good-bye kiss befowe she dies?" I get so angry, all I can see is red. I want to kill her, right where she stands, to cover the floor with her blood like she did Hermione's. Leaning my head back, I spit in her face. "Why you little! I have never! You will regret ever.." She points her wand at me, and I close my eyes, bracing myself for death. Right at that second, Harry, Ron, and our old house-elf Dobby come running in. The only thing that goes through my head is protecting Hermione, so as soon as Aunt Bel grabs her up, holding Hermione at wand-point, I jump in front of her, shooting my wand at Harry and Ron, anything I can do to keep them from missing their aim and accidently hurting Hermione. My mum, seeing what I am doing, jumps in beside me, shooting at them as well.

"No need for all that." Aunt Bel screams out, "Look what I've got." She has her wand digging into Hermione's neck, "And either one of you take one step closer, she's dead." She looks from Weasley to Potter, back to Weasley again. The room is silent all except for a _squeek, squeek, squeek. _We all look up, to where the sound is coming from, the chandelier.

"Harry Potter saved Dobby. Harry Potter's friends are Dobby's friends." A little voice peeps out of the chandelier, right before it drops in front of Aunt Bel, scaring her enough for Hermione to get free and run back to Harry and Ron's side. Quickly Dobby appears next to Harry, making all of them apparate, but not before Aunt Bel threw a dagger at them, it disappearing with them. Please, I thought to myself. Don't let it hit Hermione.


	15. MUDBLOOD

Sitting at the park bench, I look up at the moon. A full moon again tonight, I think to myself, imagining what he had said. _I want you to look at the moon, I will be here watching it, every night. _I didn't come for him, I came for answers. I wanted to know why he let this happen, why he allowed her to hurt me like that. Subconciously, I hold the bandages on my arm, feeling the familiar burn of them. Dobby was dead because of him, I was nearly dead because of him.

"Hermione! My God, your ok!" He screams across the park, running to me, hugging me, kissing me so hard it hurts my lips. "I was so scared. I thought.." I smack him.

"You thought what!" I blow up on him, letting him have what he deserves, the pain that I felt while he stood there and watched. "You thought you would just leave me for dead? At the hands of your psychotic aunt, no doubt? Or that once she was done, you would have your way with carving up my body, carve 'Draco L. Malfoy' in my bloody chest? No! That wouldn't be fair, why would Malfoy ever, EVER, mark a MUDBLOOD" I spat the word at him, rubbing it in his face "as his own."

"I did what I could, Mione. Don't you see, if I would have said anything, she would have killed us both, and then my mother for trying to defend me."

"Oh yes, and it's so much better that only one of us dies than three? Especially when the one is barely considered a witch at all" I mock.

"It wasn't like that. You would have lived. She would have told me to send you back down to the dungeon when she got bored, you would have escaped." He pleaded, his eyes begging for forgiveness.

"Oh, that's comforting, whenever she got bored! Until then I would have been her little pin cushion and you would have been sitting there watching with your mommy."

"LOOK AT ME, HERMIONE!" He screams, raising the sleeve of his shirt. There, in the exact same spot as mine, in his neat handwriting, surrounded by dried blood, it says one little word. _MUDBLOOD _"I did that for you." he whispers, looking down.

"Oh my god Draco! Why!" I scream, grabbing his hand, looking at his arm. "Why! Why would you do that?"

"I knew you were hurt, I wanted to make you feel like you weren't alone in the world. Like someone else understands, they know what it's like to hurt." I kiss him, as much as I hate him right now, as much as my arm is killing me from Bellatrix' dagger, I kiss him. For the first time since he showed up, I actually look at him. He was still wearing the same clothes as earlier, his hair tangled in front of his eyes, which were red from what looked like hours of crying. "My mum told Aunt Bel off, said that she needed to remember her place in our house, and that she was beneath me in all decisions made in that house." He whispers, before kissing me again, gently. "I will never, ever, let anyone hurt you again. I promise you that. Do you understand?" He cries out, shaking my shoulders slightly. "You are my everything Hermione, and one day, I promise you, you will be my wife. When this war is over, name the place, I don't care. Rome, Egypt, America, they are all yours if you want. Do you hear me? Anything. We will own Malfoy Manor, I will work and bless you with children. Please?" He begged.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, kissing him. "I understand. And I want all of that with you, but what about Lucius? Won't that change anything?"

"I don't care about my father, Hermione, I love you. We will live" he stops himself, as if he is mentally debating something, "I am willing to live like a Weasley if it will keep you by my side."


	16. Battle of Hogwarts

I hadn't heard from him since that night, the night he promised me that our future was together, when all this was said and done. _I love you Hermione _Yes, the sound of music. A voice I needed to hear, especially now, as I heard all these familiar voices. My friends, most of them practically family, screaming out. Some in pain, others in exhaustion. The war was finally coming to an end, but in order to have an end, you must first have a grand finally. I cry, seeing my friends out there risking their lives, and for what? My best friend, Harry Potter. Luna dueling a death eater, Neville battling a giant spider. Suddenly, a dementor appears directly in front of me. _Anytime you feel like you don't have me, look for the moon._ I look up, directly in front of me, a full moon.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM" I scream out, at the top of my lungs. The dementor disappears, leaving only a flash of light. I sigh. This is all so overwhelming. I just kissed my best friend. I put my hand up to my lips, feeling them briefly, before using my wand to battle off a giant spider. Tears stream down my face as I search for Harry in the crowd, or Draco, just to know that I am not the only one on our side still alive. Nevermind, I don't want to see Draco, I have betrayed him in the worst way possible. The only boy I have ever kissed, ever given myself to, and now here I was, in a life-threatening situation, snogging with my best friend. I gasp, trying to catch my breath through the tears.

"Mione! Mione!" Finally! A familiar voice in the chaos. I turn around, facing Ron. "Come on, they need help moving bodies in the Great Hall." Tears streaming down my face, I follow him.

"Hey Ron," I say, standing at the giant double doors leading into the Great Hall. "Remember the first time we walked through this doorway? None of us had any idea what we were getting ourselves into, you and that silly rat." I laugh.

"Yea, your hair was bigger than your head." He laughs back, looking at me, seeing that I am no longer laughing, but just staring at him. "I mean.."

"It's ok, the war is over. We made it!" I smile, grabbing his hand, as we walk into the Great Hall, that had once been so much comfort to us all, and now held the cold, lifeless bodies of my friends. Remus. Tonks. Fred. Ron runs over to Fred's body, crying beside Molly. I can't cry. I have cried so many tears in the past year that I don't know if I even have any to spare. The entire room goes quiet as Harry walks in. "Oh my god! Harry!" I scream, hugging him. "We were so worried, are you okay?"

"Yea," He whispers "The war is over."


	17. Battle Scars

I step foot into the Great Hall. Going back to school is hard, especially with a dark mark on one side of your arm and MUDBLOOD on the other. The rumors are even harder.

"Did you hear? Granger kissed Weasley during the Battle!"

"Ron, right? Weren't they like..constantly together?"

"Yea, kinda makes you wonder." These fourth years at the lunch table were about to make me turn both of them into frogs.

"Wouldn't surprise me. What do you expect? They slept in a tent together for how long? Actually wouldn't surprise me if she was.."

"SHUT UP!" I yell, slamming my fists down on the table. "Or I will make sure both of you never speak her name again!" Standing up, I point my wand at both of their faces.

"Draco, relax." Pansy calmly rests her hand on my shoulder "sit down." She whispers as the entire room stares at me. So I have been on edge since the war, most of the rumors I have caught wind of blame it on Voldemort losing, or the sights that people claim occurred in our house, that eventually I just lost it. "Please, just sit down." Slowly, I sit at the table. Only she knows the reason behind why I really act like this, only Pansy knows why I wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Why I can't wait to point my wand in that hussy's face, ending her for good. "Are you okay?" She whispers to me, leaning in close so that we can talk.

"Do I look ok?" I mumble. "Do I look like I even know what okay is anymore?"

"That's what I mean, Draco. You're scaring me." She whispers back, putting her hand on my arm. "I know that we can't keep you from seeing her forever and when you do," She stops, allowing my imagination to take place of what she refuses to say.

"Yea" I answer, staring off into space.

"When was the last time you did anything, anything besides think of her?"

"Before the war, Pansy. I haven't done anything but worry about her well-being since before the war and this is how she repays me, by sucking the face off of Weasel-bee." On that note, I stand up, leaving the Great Hall. I'll go out and get some fresh air, I think to myself. Maybe that'll do me some good. As soon as I walk out the door, there she is. "Well, well. Filthy little MUDBLOOD, offering herself to everyone I hear."

"Draco! Wait!" She begs me, trying to explain herself.

"Shut up! You don't have the right to call me that anymore! I am better than you! You are filthy, a mudblood, a disgrace to the wizarding world. It's Malfoy to you." I spit at her, hoping my words hurt nearly as much as that kiss did me. "You are nothing, NOTHING! I should have let you die under my aunt's hand in the Manor." I look at her with disgust.

"Please, I didn't mean to kiss him." She cries out "We were going through so much, with everyone dying and the Battle raging outside. We had just killed a giant snake, for crying out loud. I wasn't thinking straight." She cries out.

"I have yet to kill a person, Granger." I say, dramatically quieter, pulling out my wand and pointing it in her face, "But tell me why you shouldn't be my first." I eye her up and down in disgust. "You ruined my life, I gave you everything, offered you everything, look at this!" I scream, lifting the sleeve to my shirt, exposing what is now a scar of my love for her. "Has Weasel ever done anything like that for you?" She starts to cry. "I have marked myself as a mudblood for you. What have you done for me?" I stare her in the face.

"Everynight, before I go to sleep, I still look at the moon, waiting for you to say you love me again." She whispers, through the tears, "If that's not enough, kill me now, at least I will die knowing that you were the last face I seen." I put my wand away, and walk back inside before she has a chance to see the tears well up in my eyes.


	18. Epilouge

I hadn't heard from him since that day, not until after the wedding at least. My parents were there, Ron's parents were there. Molly cried as Ron and I said our vows, Harry and Ginny beside us, as the Maid of Honor and Best Man. He showed up at the reception, as did his mom, Narcissa. She wished us both a happy marriage, kissing both me and Ron on the cheek.

"You make a beautiful bride, Mione. Please, if you need anything, you know where we live." She winks.

"Thank you," I answer. I know why Lucius isn't here, from the moment he found out about me and Draco, he had never approved, but that was ok.

"I am seeing someone, Mione." Draco anounces proudly, sticking his chest out.

"Are you really?" I had heard through the grapevines that he had never really shown interest in any girls after the war, that he would get bored with them easily.

"Yes, Miss Astoria Greengrass" He smiles.

"I'm happy for you, Malf" He interupts me.

"Hermione, it's Draco." He smiles.

"I'm happy for you, Draco." I reply, rubbing his arm, in a friendly fashion, where our matching scars now stood. The long-sleeved dress I wore covered mine, and he was wearing a nice, button down shirt, so only him and I knew what I was referring to. "I really am."

Years passed by, every once in a while, a letter received.

** Dear Mr. And Mrs. Ronald Weasley, I am pleased to invite you to the uniting of Miss. Astoria Greengrass to Mr. Draco Malfoy. Yours truly, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy.**

** Hermione, **

The same neat handwriting wrote from years before, **I have amazing news! Astoria is pregnant! If it is a boy, we are going with Scorpius Hyperion. If it is a girl, I begged her, and she agrees, Narcissa Jean. Whatever we have, may the baby one day fly with the eagles. Your friend, Draco.**

**Draco, **

**That is great. We are also expecting. I think we have decided on the name Rose. Your friend, Hermione.**

**Hermione, **

**Scorpius is seven now. He is constantly climbing that tree I pointed out to you in the front yard. He says it reminds him of his Grandmum Cissy, may she rest in peace. He asked me about my scar the other day, the twin to yours, I told him I got that during a war. That a friend was in pain, and I couldn't let them hurt alone. Your friend, Draco.**

**Draco, Rose asks about mine too. I have told her how you saved my life that night. How you stood up to a bad witch, and fought for my protection. She says when she's older, she wants to fight a bad witch too. I laugh, she has so much fight in her for such a little girl. Your friend, Hermione.**

**Hermione, I talked to Harry the other day at work. He told me Hugo turned your cat into a frog. Is that the same cat you had in school? Too funny. Just like his father, the trickster. Your friend, Draco.**

**Draco, Yes. The same cat, and yes he did. He is in big trouble for it too. Your friend, Hermione.**

**Hermione, All Scorpius ever talks about it going to Hogwarts, he is ten now, next year I will see him off. Will Rose be going as well? Maybe they can sit together, Scorpius really don't have many friends yet, he's a shy one. Your friend, Draco.**

**Draco, Rose would like that, she will talk his ear off, as well as Albus'. She's very excited. Your friend, Hermione.**

And now, tomorrow Rose is off to Hogwarts. Here I am, sitting in front of the fireplace, and I don't know what to do. I don't know if I want to cry, because my oldest daughter is headed off to Hogwarts, or be thrilled, because I knew this was going to happen. Then, I hear a knock on the door. Walking over, I flip the eye-hole looking out.

"Wh- who is it?" I stammer, loud enough for the person outside to hear, but not loud enough to wake the kids, who were sleeping in the other room.

"Are you still awake? It's Draco." The voice replies. I look at my watch, opening the door.

"Draco, it's nearly midnight." I say, stepping aside to let him in. "What are you doing here?" I help him remove his coat.

"I couldn't sleep, and I know how you stress out over things, so I figured you couldn't either." He smirks, sitting down at the dinner table, "I'm just worried, what if he's picked on because he's a Malfoy? Or expected to live up to the bad-boy term that I had to? What if he don't have any friends, because no one wants their kids hanging out with a pure-blood. Remember the picking I used to do? What if he gets that? As pay-back to me." I just hug him, wrapping my arms around him tight. "He will be fine, Draco. Neville is a professor, we can have him watch out for Scorpius. You raised your son well, he is a very bright boy. You worry too much about him." I pull away. "Besides, if he is known for being a Malfoy, everyone will know him for the son of the man who saved a mudblood's life. Who marked himself with the sign of mudblood to show he was no better than those he picked on. Scorpius will be known as the son of a hero, Draco." I smile. "You were always my hero." He smiles back,

"Yea, I guess you're right. Aren't you worried about Rose, though? What will happen to her?" I think about it. Rose, at four, skinned up knees. Her at seven, when James, her cousin, wouldn't stop teasing her, and she punched him in the nose. Her now, growing into a beautiful young lady.

"No, I'm not. I was before you got here. I was acting like Molly, crying my eyes out because my baby was leaving me, but now, I'm fine." Draco looks at me funny. "She has her mother's brains, her father's humor, a mean right hook, and the sons of two of the bravest men in the world to watch out for her. I think she'll do fine." I smile to Draco. "Do you want some tea?"


End file.
